Chapter 389: Chapter 239: Aid My Cultivation

Yunzhou City.

"One cut makes you poor, another makes you rich, and another helps you ascend to immortality! Fresh raw stones, directly mined from the northern tunnels, come quickly if you want to get rich!"

"Yesterday, someone with great fortune at our shop uncovered a Top-Grade Fire Attribute Spirit Stone and only spent ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones, earning ten thousand times the profit."

"Kilogram material, sold cheap, large quantities preferred!"

...

Upon entering Yunzhou City, the most noticeable thing was the various stone gambling houses.

"Young Master, all the mining areas in Yunzhou belong to the Dynasty, to the Li royal family. Although the Spirit Ore is hard to discern whether it contains Spirit Stones or what grade they are, you could simply mine everything and unlock it as they’re royal property. Why are these Spirit Stone Ore still being circulated?" Hong Luan observed Li Jizhou’s calm demeanor and asked, puzzled.

Li Jizhou smiled and shook his head: "Ignorant woman!"

"If the court mined everything and banned outsiders, apart from miners, who else would be in Yunzhou?

So many mining areas; how many miners would the court need to hire?

With all these miners, the Dynasty would bear all costs, and there would be many who slack off, shirk duties,

In the end, if the court were honest, it might receive half the resources at best.

Any slight corruption might mean three or four layers are all the Dynasty gets, thank heavens.

Moreover, there are rich mines and poor ones. Mobilizing for poor mines is more wasteful.

Better to section off the mining areas, lease them out and collect fifty percent rent, surely attracting more people to mine and engage in commerce, and collect shop rents, alongside their various expenses here, in the end, possibly earning over sixty percent."

As for the Seventh Prince with aspirations for the throne, he was already familiar with the fifteen states of the Jiuli Dynasty.

Of course, regarding Yunzhou’s mineral resources, Li Jizhou knew more than he was saying.

Even with strict court defense, the mining areas are vast, mistakes are inevitable, and countless stealers exist. Besides, on this side, Yunzhou borders Great Xia’s mining areas, and on the right, Cangming’s mining areas. Thieves from all three places move around frequently, naturally potentially bringing resources from other areas here.

Hong Luan suddenly realized, giving Li Jizhou a thumbs up: "I did not expect someone born and bred in the palace to observe so keenly, this servant admires you deeply."

Li Jizhou was not swayed by her flattery.

She could very well be asking just to suck up.

"No need for flattery, have you not mastered the Dual Cultivation technique yet? Once my Dao Foundation is stable, I want you to help me cultivate!"

Hong Luan smiled seductively: "Do not worry, young master, this servant is working hard and will definitely master my bloodline’s divine abilities and the dual cultivation secret technique, I will not disappoint you."

Li Jizhou nodded in satisfaction.

The dual cultivation method between the Demon Race and Human Race is not entirely compatible, besides, Li Jizhou is very interested in Hong Luan’s bloodline divine soul technique, hoping to acquire her divine abilities through their dual cultivation.

"You too!" Li Jizhou then turned to look at the Sable behind him.

The further north they went, the weaker the Spiritual Qi, with fewer High-Tier cultivators, so the Sable was not as tense now, her ears were not moving frequently.

"Ah?" Her instinctive jump at Li Jizhou’s words.

She then slightly hunched her shoulders, her cheeks flushed shyly, nodding weakly: "Oh."

It was only after touring most of Yunzhou City that Li Jizhou found the most bustling stone gambling house and walked in.

It felt like entering a casino.

Because the odds in stone gambling could be as high as a million times, the atmosphere was even more intense.

Like gamblers blinded by losses, the whole gambling house was filled with shouts of ’up, up, up’, though ultimately followed by sighs of ’down, down’.

Any shop running a stone gambling operation would hire experts to first examine them thoroughly. Any stone with potential high payoff was opened, released, without exception having undergone scrutiny by countless industry insiders.

Most gamblers understand this principle, but because no master can guarantee every stone, miracles happen occasionally.

These miracles give gamblers hope.

Li Jizhou never gambles; he does not believe in luck but in his own strength. In other words, he prefers achieving based on skill than relying on luck.

Luck is too elusive and unreliable.

"I wonder if Liu Hongling has progressed? Spirit Ore surface blocks Divine Sense, apart from Heavenly Venerates themselves, other cultivators cannot probe through, most so-called experts rely on experience from texture, grain, mining area, weight, etc., to judge."

However, Earth Spirit Masters can communicate with Earth’s Spirit for unique advantages in this aspect.

Using Earth’s Spirit to sense conditions inside.

Still, this sensing depends on Earth Spirit Master’s tiers, below Tier Three has only a ten percent certainty.

Above Tier Three, every tier increase raises certainty by twenty percent.

At least Tier Six Earth Spirit Masters can have seventy percent certainty.

However, above Tier Four Earth Spirit Masters are not interested in these Spirit Ores, better to seek treasures in Black Water Swamp with higher success rate and more yield.

For the Dynasty, having Earth Spirit Masters for unlocking stones is unnecessary, but for local merchant forces, Earth Spirit Masters are sought-after dignitaries.

Li Jizhou has no interest in stone gambling, whereas Hong Luan wanted to try her luck, spending a thousand Spirit Stones, only to lose everything, her bloodline divine soul abilities held no advantage over Spirit Ore.

Once Hong Luan lost heart, Li Jizhou was about to leave.

Suddenly his Divine Sense stirred, looking toward the center of the gambling house at a stone-unlocking stage.

The stage was most lively, Li Jizhou never had the chance to squeeze in until now.

At this moment, murmuring voices accompanied a nonchalant voice.

"Failed again!"

"Lost nearly twenty thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones already? Still so calm, he must be wealthy!"

"Such bad luck!"

...

Opposite him was the only man sitting before the stone-unlocking stage.

Looked around thirty, with a menacing centipede scar on his face.

"That one, continue!" Having lost twenty thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, he still appeared nonchalant, gnawing on a leg of a thickly-blooded Spirit Beast, casually pointing behind the stone-unlocking master at Spirit Ore.

"Sir, this one is one of our shop’s five Stone Kings, valued at ten thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, are you sure you want it unlocked?" The stone-unlocking master had already retreated, the watching shopkeeper came forward with a smiling face, yet fearlessly asked.

The scar-faced man wiped oil off his face, lifting his head to the shopkeeper.

"You are the Qi Stone Pavilion shopkeeper?"

"The humble me indeed is! May I ask what instructions you have?" The shopkeeper maintained his smiling expression.

"You’re talking too much nonsense, just one word, unlock all five Stone Kings for me!"

"No problem, five Stone Kings total one hundred seventy thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones." The shopkeeper replied smiling, not lifting his eyes at all. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What if I say to unlock first then pay?" Scar-faced leaned back, smirking playfully.

"Sir must be joking, Qi Stone Pavilion doesn’t have such rules!" The shopkeeper straightened his body, hands placed in sleeves, stared unwaveringly at the scar-faced man.

The scar-faced man chuckled, his hands wiping his face, a flash from his Storage Ring, a Xuanjin medallion slapped onto the table: "Got such a rule now?"

"Hiss~ Prince Yun’s Edict!"

"Why is someone from Prince Yun coming to Yunzhou City?"

"Step back, step back!"

...

Li Jizhou, initially about to leave, paused suddenly upon seeing this scene.

"Prince Yun!"

This is the territory granted by the current Saint Emperor’s brother, counting as Li Jizhou’s second uncle, yet the second uncle, with a mere Top-Grade Spirit Root, was dispatched five thousand years ago to this barren land, failing to surpass Nascent Soul, fading too soon.

The current Prince Yun is already eight generations later.

Counting as Li Jizhou’s great-grandnephew, should be calling Li Jizhou Seventh Patriarch Grandfather.

This is the main reason why Li Jizhou specifically came to Yunzhou!